Filed: Friday, 23rd February 2018By: Staff Writer

Five years ago this week, the KUMB Podcast team released a commemorative podcast to mark the 20th anniversary of Bobby Moore's untimely passing.

In February 1993, the entire football world was stunned by the news that former England captain Moore - the only Englishman to lift the World Cup - had died, at the age of just 51, following a battle against bowel cancer.

Some 20 years later, our Podcast team of Chris Scull and James Longman went to considerable lengths to gather the thoughts of some of the most recognisable names associated with the great man himself in order to produce one of our readers' favourite KUMB Podcasts.

From former team mates Harry Redknapp and Sir Trevor Brooking, through famous fans such as Russell Brand to close and loyal friends and colleagues such as Jonathan Pearce and Jeff Powell, no stone was left unturned in gathering the thoughts of those closest to Bobby throughout his life.

"We had only just started doing the podcast and it was episode three," recalls host James Longman. "We always grew up knowing the legend of Bobby Moore - of course we did, what Hammers didn’t - and we thought we’d pool our resources to do a tribute to him.

"We had some amazing guests who gave up their time to talk to us about Bobby, and it was the first time doing the Podcast that we harnessed the real power of the West Ham family. Everyone pulled together and we ended up with a tribute we were, and are, super proud of."

Meanwhile co-host Chris Scull, who voiced much of the 55-minute broadcast explained what motivated him to produce the tribute episode.

"In making this documentary, I read every Bobby Moore book I could get my hands on, then watched every single documentary about Bobby Moore I could find," he added. "Then off James and I went to tap-up everyone we could think of.

"The thing with the 'legend of Bobby Moore' is that it's easy to forget he was just a man, and at times flawed. I think that's what we wanted to illuminate with this documentary - the man behind the legend.

"His story is incredible, the only man to captain England to footballing champions of the world while playing for his local club. But there's also the isolation in his time after football, the struggles in his personal life and ultimately, his untimely death through cancer at an unfathomably young age.

"The tale of Bobby Moore is legendary from a West Ham perspective, but heartbreaking from a human perspective. It's such a shame Bobby died when he did, the Premier League had just been created. Money was flooding in and the game was about to fundamentally change; suddenly there was a place for legends of the past.

"I genuinely believe the greatest tragedy of all this, is that if Bobby had survived just another five or so years, he would have received the recognition he deserved. A true West Ham hero."

Your Comments

Please note that this section is for comments relating to the above news item only. Any off-topic or abusive posts will be removed. Posts including either links and/or foul language are automatically filtered and will not be published. To engage in further discussion on any of our news stories, visit the KUMB Forums.